Baitcast rod

No one?

“Baitcast rod” used with “deeper water” may be causing the lack of responses. Do you mean you’re looking a jigging combo, are you planning to bottom fish or will this be for trolling. Stating specifically what your target species is or what method of fishing you’re planning for may help with response. Lots of very knowledgeable folks here that will surely help if they have a little more info on the specifics.

Well, im not exactly sure Cash....been surf fishing for so long using spinner rods and reels that were great for weakies and spot etc....assumed as i went out deeper id need bigger baitcast rods and reels as id be looking to catch bigger fish. Thats the reason i bought a boat. Whenever id go on a deep sea trip on a charter...they were all outfitted with baitcast reels on pretty heavy rods.....and we were bottom fishing most times.

Ill rephrase.....does anyone have a suggestion of a brand of fishing rods and reels that are solid , that wont break the bank?

One of my favorite inexpensive combos is an Ugly Stik with a Penn reel.

yeah - I was kinda confused as well. I don't think there's any confusion when you say "spinning" outfit.
And we all probably know what a spincaster is and wouldn't dare have one of those offshore unless we had a 4 year old on board and wanted to use it as a prop for them.

Baitcaster to me means a small open face reel that probably backlashes all the time and you take a bait and sling it a long way. it's meant mostly for 'casting'.

Once I get outta sight of land, if I'm casting, I'm using a spinning reel.

If I'm dropping I use what I call a "boat reel" or an 'open face reel'. I've never referred to my Penn GTi levelwinds as 'baitcasters' although, technically, I guess that's not wrong with regards to design.

Ok - after all that extra gibberish -

I typically go with the cheapest BassPro/Cabelas style bottom rod I can find. I recently had a Penn bottom rod have the real seat seize up on me and I had to deform it to get the reel off. I decided it'd be pretty stupid to try and put another reel on it after that. For about $100, you can typically get a 5'6-6' MH bottom rod that can double for trolling from BassPro/Offshore Angler.

I would say - get you a nice Penn/Shimano/Daiwa reel. Don't skimp there. Generally with the rod - it'll put up with just about anything, and unless you get into a real hoss that you're overmatched for - it ain't gonna break (especially on the troll - if you break a rod while trolling - either you don't know what you're doing to play fish or you don't know how to set the drag).

The above mentioned ugly stick is a great starter if you don't want something with a super stiff backbone.

Just like any fishing - there is no one size fits all. If you get the equivalent of an iron pipe with no flex, you may be able to horse up everything in the world, but you'll miss/won't have fun with the normal size fish. And if you get something a little lighter, you'll have a blast with the normal fish, but when Mr 40 lb grouper hits, you're in deep doo doo.

Thats the info i can use...thanks guys....im gonna look into the ugly stick MH and pair it up with a decent reel for bottom fishing. I didnt want to be out a mile off shore fishing with a light spinning rod and reel ....they’ve been great for the little guys i catch in 6 feet of surf, but was looking dor something with backbone for what i hope to be catching.

I think my confusion is that i call any rod witht the guides on top a baitcast rod.....probably wrong..... but seems to me the weight of a heavier fish would be transferred to the rod blank with the guides on top as opposed to the line pulling on the guides on the bottom of a spinner rod...which id assume is preferable.

Caught an almost 4 ft dogfish off the surf last fall and he damn near ripped the top 2 guides off my rod...I figured if that can happen in 5 feet of water...100 feeti better have something stronger.

You may be surprised at how many little critters you'll find further out. Your light spinning combo should be fine bottom fishing on most of the near shore (2-5 mi) artificial reefs, which usually hold a lot of small fish and an occasional surprise. We have caught and released a few 36"+ red drum using a Penn Battle 2500 spinning reel loaded with 15# braid. With the drag set correctly, it can be a hoot. A spinning rod has the spine on the opposite side of the eyes, so your rod should be fine for a hard pull. Just be sure not to put a conventional reel on a spinning rod and vice versa. You might find a deal or two at yard sales this spring, just watch out for junk.

Thanks Joe....

Im thinking a 7 foot lenght of rebar and duct tape a penn squall on it and i should be able to bring anything over the side...lol...

Seems the more i learn about fishing, the less i know.

For drifting and trolling the bottom.........would you guys recommend the penn squall? Looks like what i need...it also has a levelwind model....not sure what the difference is

When I first started fishing outside the inlet I caught my first 2 kings on $19.99 Walmart surf combos so don’t think you have to dump tons of money just to get started ( NOT recommending that by the way). The levelwind has a guide that moves the line back and forth on the reel, something you don’t want if you hook a smoker king, hoo or anything that’s gonna run a lot if line off. In the other hand the levelwind might be what you want bottom fishing. I knew once you got a little more specific the guys on here would be of great help. In fact, let us know when and where you’ll be shopping and we’ll go help you spend YOUR money LOL. Good luck to you Keelshot! Just don’t get discouraged, keep asking the questions here and learn something new every time you go out.

Thanks Cash....wasnt trying to be vague...as i said...ive only surf fished, so when i started looking at rods and reels for my boat, it seemed there were 2 choices...spinner , which i had , and baitcaster....now my head is spinning ( no pun intended) at the variety of rods and reels and gear ratios and bearings and brake systems and drag systems....whoo ....i figured you guys would know.

Going with Diawa Seagate....compared slightly better than the Penn Squall. Looks like a good solid entry level conventional reel...probably put it on the ugly stick and see how it goes...